SPRING 2008 STAFF DEVELOPMENT FLEX CAL ACTIVITIES January 15 & 18 (optional days) and January 16 & 17 (required days) The campus will be closed on Thursday, January 17 th for staff in-service. Solano Community College Human Resources Department 4000 Suisun Valley Road Fairfield, CA 94534-3197 (707) 864-7128 http://www.solano.edu Reservations required for workshops indicating RSVP, otherwise workshops are first come, first served! Faculty Participation - Full-time faculty are required to attend four campus in-service days and contract for the remaining six days in either optional workshops or individually planned activities. Adjunct faculty may participate in on- and off-campus in-service activities with approval of immediate supervisor for the number of hours equal to their weekly assigned hours for the semester and will be reimbursed for their participation at their hourly rate of pay. Staff Participation - Classified and management staff are strongly encouraged to attend flex workshops and staff development activities. Released time should be arranged with their immediate supervisor. Small Group/Individual Projects/Student Info Tables - Prior approval from division Dean is necessary for this option. Faculty may use up to six optional flex cal hours per day on optional days to work on curricular activities. 12-18-07
TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2008 (Optional Day) 8:00 a.m. 10:00 a.m. (2 hours optional flex credit) Building 1700, Gymnasium Get in Shape-Let s Play Badminton Becky Lum, PE Instructor Come and join us for some fun and exercise playing badminton. All levels welcome and equipment will be provided. Expect to compete against your colleagues in a friendly tournament. Prizes will be awarded to the best men, women, and mixed doubles teams. We will crown the best badminton players on campus. Play will be in the gym, so please wear non-scuff shoes. 9:00 a.m. 4:00 p.m. (6 hours optional flex credit) Building 800, Room 807-B (Limited to 15 participants) CPR Glenn Burgess, Health Occupations Instructor Sue Clement, Health Occupations Instructor Char McKeown, Health Occupations Instructor CPR training is an opportunity to learn important lifesaving skills. CPR is used when someone s breathing or heartbeat has stopped because of drowning, electrical shock, or as a result of a heart attack. Upon successful completion of the course, a LIFE SUPPORT NETWORK course completion card will be issued. 10:00 a.m. 12:00 noon (2 hours optional flex credit) Building 600, Room 605 (Limited to 50 participants) STRS Workshop Paul Gilles, STRS Some topics covered in workshop: Basic information about CalSTRS, how benefits are calculated, how to provide a lifetime benefit for another person, why financial planning is important, how to determine your retirement goal, tax-deferred accounts, and completing a financial check up. 10:30 a.m. 12:00 noon (1-1/2 hours optional flex credit) Personal Preparedness for Disaster Steve Dawson, Chief College Police Major emergencies and disasters can occur without warning and may create a serious risk to you at home and in the workplace. The purpose of this workshop is to provide information on how you can personally prepare and respond during a disaster or emergency. An overview of the Emergency Operations Plan and Workplace Violence Guide will also be included in this presentation. 12:00 noon 3:00 p.m. (3 hours optional flex credit) Building 1600, Room 1646 (Limited to 55 participants) Workload Mary Ann Haley, Workload Committee Chair Join members of the Executive Board and Negotiating Team for a session designed to generate ideas for our Negotiating Team regarding workload. At this session each division will be allowed an opportunity to present a position paper in which it delineates the most specific workload issues or problems for the division and proposed contractual solutions. So, come prepared with your division s written proposal and ideas for remedies. 1:00 p.m. 4:00 p.m. (3 hours optional flex credit) Building 1700, Room 1723 (Limited to 30 participants) Interaction with Ballroom Dancing Pedro Hiort-Lorenzen, Humanities Instructor Come to this workshop and learn how to move on the dance floor with a partner. Ballroom dance is in, folks, and everybody can learn! Dancing is just controlled walking, if you can walk, you can dance! Come and interact with your colleagues and surprise yourself!! Pedro will teach this beginning/intermediate session that covers basic patterns of the most popular ballroom dances. You learn how to hold a proper frame, how to pick up the down beat; and how to do the box step; once you learn these three basic things, you can do just about every dance. Variations will follow as the group progresses. You must wear shoes with non-marking soles to protect the floor. 1:00 p.m. 2:30 p.m. Understanding CalPERS Nadine Franklin, CSEA Retirement Consultant Many classified employees do not know that CalPERS protects today and pays for LIFE. Learn about CalPERS benefits and save thousands of dollars. Topics include: What factors can increase CalPERS Benefits; how to protect contributions when changing jobs; what to do if terminal illness strikes; disability retirement for classified employees under age 60; what happens to CalPERS funds when an employee dies; looking ahead---the right time to retire. 2:30 p.m. 4:00 p.m. Building 700, Room 703 (Limited to 59 participants) Reclassification Workshop Debb Jachens and Cynthia Simon, CSEA This workshop will review the contract language, what to consider if you are thinking about reclassification, and what to expect from the panel.
3:00 p.m. 4:30 p.m. (1-1/2 hours flex credit) Union 101 Diane White, CTA President This session will introduce faculty to the basics of collective bargaining including the legal parameters for the union s roles and obligations, processes for negotiations and grievance, our organizational structures, and ways that you can become involved in your union. 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. (3 hours optional flex credit) Building 1600, Rooms 1645 (Limited to 68 participants) Adjunct/Part-time Faculty Forum Todd Davis, English Adjunct Faculty and CTA negotiating team member All adjunct faculty are invited to this forum to learn how the Solano College Faculty Association works for them, and to voice their needs and concerns regarding instruction and employment issues. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2008 (Required Day) 8:30 a.m. 9:00 a.m. Coffee hosted by Flex Cal 9:00 a.m. 10:00 a.m. (1 hour optional flex credit) Introduction to Banner Jay Field, Vice President, Technology/Learning Resources Catherine Fites, Dean of Admissions and Records This will be a demonstration for faculty of features within the Student system. Rosters, grade books, and other functions will be demonstrated. 10:00 a.m. 12:00 noon (2 hours required flex credit) Learning Outcomes Assessment: Closing the Loop Tracy Schneider, English Instructor During this session, each faculty member will present his/her piloted SLO, assessment, and results analysis to other faculty. Divisions will break into departments and/or segments of departments (or in cases of very small departments, several may combine) in order for each faculty to share and discuss the implications of the individual, department, and division assessment analyses. The goal of this activity is to learn from one another as well as brainstorm and gather information regarding the improvement of student learning at the classroom, department, division, and campus-wide levels. *Note: When our pilot years are over and our assessment cycle begins, the information gathered at these sessions will be used in curriculum and program reviews as well as collegewide planning. 12:00 noon 1:30 p.m. (1-1/2 hours optional flex credit) CTA/Senate Lunch Meeting Diane White, CTA President Gail Kropp, Senate President Return to Fairfield Campus 2:00 p.m. 5:00 p.m. (3 hours required flex credit) Division Meetings Business/Computer Science (Room 506) Career Technical Education (Room 1876) Counseling/DSP&S (Room 135) Fine & Applied Arts/Behavioral Sci (Room 1301) Health Occupations (Room 804) Health & PE (Room 1725) Technology & Learning Resources (Room 129) Humanities (Room 812) Math & Science (Room 308) Special Services (Room 1102) 5:00 p.m. 6:30 p.m. Building 100 Lobby CSEA, Local 39 and CTA Dinner CSEA and Local 39 are invited by CTA to a dinner to discuss health care. Dinner will be served in the lobby of Building 100 and the meeting will follow in the library. 6:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m. (1 hour required flex credit) Division Meetings Business/Computer Science (Room 506) Career Technical Education (Room 1876) Counseling/DSP&S (Room 135) Fine & Applied Arts/Behavioral Sci (Room 1301) Health Occupations (Room 804) Health & PE (Room 1725) Technology & Learning Resources (Room 129) Humanities (Room 812) Math & Science (Room 308) Special Services (Room 1102) THURSDAY, JANUARY 17, 2008 (Required Day) The campus is closed for Faculty/Staff In-Service Janene Whitesell, Master of Ceremonies 8:30 a.m. 9:00 a.m., Building 1200, Lobby (optional) Coffee hosted by Superintendent/President (3 hours flex credit for morning activities) 9:00 a.m. 9:10 a.m., Building 1200, Theater Welcome Janene Whitesell, Master of Ceremonies
9:10 a.m. 10:10 a.m. Welcome and College Update Gerry Fisher, Superintendent/President 10:10 a.m. 10:25 p.m. Impossible Mountain, The Novel, The Journey Philip Petersen, Physics/Astronomy Instructor The thrust of this spiritual sci-fi, climbing adventure is that life leads us to conclude that tolerance is the path to peace. A PowerPoint will be shown, giving a brief synopsis of the novel. Then the author will then read from a chapter called, The Summit. A recorded verse from a song from the accompanying CD will also be played. 10:25 a.m. 10:35 a.m. Break 10:35 a.m. 11:05 a.m. Senate Report Gail Kropp, Academic Senate President 11:05 a.m. 11:30 a.m. Biotechnology: Solano College s contribution to the field Jim DeKloe, Bio Science/Biotechnology Instructor The San Francisco bay area served as the birthplace of biotechnology and it remains the dominant area for this field in the world. The 21 st century has been called the biotech century and every state in the United States has initiated a major effort to attract biotechnology companies to their area; Solano County has been remarkably successful. This talk will give an update on this field and on Solano College s internationally-recognized individual biotechnology program, now a decade old. In the last decade Solano College played a major role in redefining education and training in this field. Colleges and universities across the country (and in several other countries) used Solano College s program as a model to establish or change their program. The program works closely with local and regional economic development agencies to attract additional biotech companies to the region and works with local, regional, and national workforce development committees to develop strategies to expand the number of trained workers. The expansion of this field has provided increased opportunities for our graduates and the field has the potential for remarkable expansion. Several recent changes in the Solano College program have been instituted to try to adopt to the expansion and changes in the field. 11:30 a.m. 12:00 noon Self-guided Tour of the New Student Services Building) (3 hours flex credit for afternoon activities) Select from one of the three workshops below: 1:30 p.m. 3:00 p.m. (1-1/2 hours required flex credit) 1. Supplemental Instruction (SI) Going the extra mile Building 700, Room 704 (Limited to 50 participants) Diane White, History Instructor SI is a program in which groups of students meet outside of regular classes with a peer instructor and other students to discuss material, prepare for exams, and learn how to integrate course content and study skills. This session will introduce participants to best practices in SI, and help faculty strategize about how to implement a successful SI program for their students. OR 2. Faculty role in Plagiarism-prevention Building 700, Room 706 (Limited to 40 participants) Erin Duane, Access Services Librarian This session will place plagiarism within the context of Information Competence and its implications for faculty and students and will provide an overview of a new faculty resource: Turnitin.com. Discussion will include how and why plagiarism occurs focusing on preventative measures faculty can apply in their classrooms. OR 3. BSI Update The Action Plan for Spring and Beyond Building 700, Room 705, (Limited to 55 participants) Josh Stein, English Instructor The plans that have been formulated for implementation in Spring and Summer 2008 and what we are still working on for the future will be presented. OR 4. English 350/355 and the Writing/Reading Labs Building 700, Room 703 (Limited to 59 participants) Chris McBride, English Instructor A meeting of instructors and staff from Humanities who will teach English 350/355 and/or the Writing/Reading Lab in the Spring. This session will provide faculty and staff with an overview of the courses for Spring 2008. The integration between the classroom and labs will be highlighted. All Humanities faculty and staff are welcome. OR 5. Basic Skills Math Conference Reports Building 1500, Room 1530 (Limited to 42 participants) Susanna Crawford, Math Instructor Math department members will meet to discuss their experiences and lessons learned from conference breakout sessions that focused on basic skills issues for mathematics students. 12:00 noon 1:30 p.m. Lunch On Your Own
Select from one of the three workshops below: 3:00 p.m. 4:30 p.m. (1-1/2 hour required flex credit) 1. Curriculum Basics and Course Integrity Erin Farmer, Chair Curriculum Committee This session will provide an overview of the course proposal, review, and approval process. OR 2. Academic Freedom: What it is and what it is not! Building 1500, Room 1531 (Limited to 31 participants) Darryl Allen, Math Instructor Come join fellow colleagues in a discussion about the meaning of academic freedom. After a brief overview as to the history of academic freedom and its rationale, one can expect an open ended discussion on what academic freedom means to the faculty at Solano College and what it does not mean. OR 3. Civil Communication: Practice makes perfect! Building 1500, Room 1526 (Limited to 40 participants) Dorothy Hawkes, Math Instructor Thom Watkins, Business Instructor Sandra Rotenberg, Access Services Librarian So in this short hour we will discuss some of the ways in which civil communication on campus can be honed and perfected: exploring some of the tools we use to encourage civility, talking about some of the benefits of civil discourse in a professional environment and finally getting some practice creating civil versions of some favorite rants. OR FRIDAY, JANUARY 18, 2008 (Optional Day) 10:00 a.m. 12:00 noon Building 300, Room 308 (Limited to 105 participants) Introduction and some more applications to the SmartBoard/Sympodium The presentation will include the following: 1. Basic features of the Smartboard/Sympodium. 2. Use of the smart notebook software. 3. Sharing of ideas and lessons using Smartboard/ Sympodium. 4. Use of Smartboard in PowerPoint presentations. 12:00 noon 1:30 p.m. Building 400, Room 402/403 (Limited to 58 participants) CSEA Lunch/Meeting 4. English 370 and the Writing/Reading Labs Building 700, Room 706 (Limited to 40 participants) Chris McBride, English Instructor A meeting of instructors and staff from Humanities who will teach English 370 and/or the Writing/Reading Lab in the Spring. This session will provide faculty and staff with an overview of the courses for Spring 2008. The integration between the classroom and labs will be highlighted. All Humanities faculty and staff are welcome. OR 5. Basic Skills Math Where do we go from here? Building 1500, Room 1529 (Limited to 38 participants) Susanna Crawford, Math Instructor Susanna will lead a discussion of basic skills initiatives in math that are planned for the next year. If you have ideas bring them to this session as we will be discussing the direction the math department should be moving in to help improve the basic math skills of Solano College students.